Salvia is Natural.

The other night I was hanging out with a bunch of “Dharma Brats” for the first time in a couppla years…including Eddie Boyce, the coolest Buddhist kid I ever knew back when I was a young punk. At some point he started cracking up and telling me about how he and some friends were watching a bunch of Salvia Trip videos. Come again?

I’d heard about Salvia. It’s basically a hangover/after-effect free natural plant that, when smoked, produced a, like, total trip, dude. There’s a thriving subculture of Tripping on Salvia videos on youtube, all of which are pretty funny/scary/funny. Here’s a few of my favorites, which go into detailed exercises that never quite come off as planned. Videos:

My favorite:

And here’s the truly scary part, and the best video of all, via Current. It’s the “natural” reaction of The Man to make the stuff illegal, which as with pot will not only fail to prevent folks from getting their hands on it, but will create a black market, crime, and kajillions of prisoners…when, as with gambling, we could instead selectively legalize it, keep it in the light instead of underground—and tax the heck out of it.

Comments

1481117 Responseshttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.elephantjournal.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fblogging-on-salvia%2FBlogging+on+Salvia.2009-05-19+03%3A18%3A22elephant+journalhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.elephantjournal.com%2F%3Fp%3D14811 to “Blogging on Salvia.”

these videos are all retarded. but i guess no-one would want to watch videos of someone lying on her back quietly and peacefully savouring a blessed, wonderful, mind-expanding salvia. it's these kind of videos that make the squares in power want to illegalize it.

From a friend on FB: Ben W at 9:33pm May 18
Waylon THANK YOU! I go to the beach every summer and they are selling salvia every six feet next to the offensive tshirts, but I've never really understood it until now. Also "how to buy salvia" should be a nice shot in the arm for your web traffic.

Waylon Hart Lewis at 9:36pm May 18
Yah, I put that in at the end…I'm no dummy! Though I 'm not sure it's 'mindful,' I think making this kinda thing illegal is reedickulusss.

Salvia D is NOT a recreational drug nor should it be used as such. Mazatecan Shamans of the Mexican state Oaxaca used it for divination purposes. I persoanlly don't think that you should be broadcasting these videos to the world…the next thing you know someone will be tripping out on Salvia and running into traffic on Foothills Drive. Salvia is a bit sacred…the masses aren't ready for it nor do they need it.

This scares the spiritual crap out of me. THIS is sacred plant medicine and the ongoing use of this for recreation without spiritual mentorship or guidance is extremely dangerous both physically and psycho spiritually. All the GREAT masters implore us to not dance willy nilly down the path of enlightenment … and to never go there without a TEACHER… Waylon with all due respect it is not like marijuana or alcohol or tobacco… and we all could use a bit of a reset on the SACRED use of these plant medicines as well!

I have a friend who has done this nearly every day and he is completely screwed up … and frankly will most likely end up in a mental institution…

The publishing of these is irresponsible and only propagates a less than honorable review of psychoactive plants as tools for enlightened consciousness achievement. Shame on you… just because there are millions of videos on you tube about this is no excuse for not striking a more spiritual and graceful pose in your journal.. I agree with pivotal wave… and frankly encourage you strongly to interview shamanic teachers on this issue… and bring the truth of the need for reverence of the plant kingdom as a teacher on our quests… we need to reach out to these kids and awaken them to sacredness and reverence not laugh at their desperate dalliances… our youth need us to guide them not laugh at them … please ..

I have smoked Salvia *Divin*orum twice. I would never, ever recommend it for recreational use. If users aren't prepared for seeing things that may scare the begeebers out of them yet make perfect sense on a whole other plane of existence. When those two worlds slide on top of one together diagonally (something I experienced, and I've seen other videos with users trying to slice the air in half diagonally…coincidence?), it can be enlighteningly, divinely frightening; your truth in that short-lived five minutes or so (it's a very short-lived yet *very* deep experience) doesn't even exist on a level you can see or understand. I learned the name of a place that I have searched for…no luck yet, but it truly does exist whether here or on another plane just as easily as the Elephant does on this one. It's all about perception. It's all illusion. Salvia D thins the space between, that separation from this plane and that other.

The problem in keeping this available to people who use it responsibly to learn more about this world or the next or the one beside it…is that it will still be too readily available for those who shouldn't use it. Personally, I would hope that trying it once or twice would be enough to show these pleasure-seekers that this is *nothing* like smoking weed (which I think they might be expecting). It would be interesting to see a video describing their experience a week later, and whether or not they're still interested in tripping on this. I learned a few lessons that I carry with me every day. If you're expecting that, it can be empowering. If not…daaaaammmmmnnnnn.

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[…] More salvia info, hilarity. And, how to get if you wanna get stupid. Waylon Lewis, founder of elephantjournal.com and host of Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis, is a 1st generation American Buddhist “Dharma Brat.” Named #1 in U.S. on twitter for #green content by Shorty Awards, Changemaker and Eco Ambassador by Treehugger, Green Hero by Discovery’s Planet Green, Best Shameless Self-Promoter at the Westword Web Awards and Prominent Buddhist by Shambhala Sun, Waylon is a mediocre climber, lazy yogi, 365-day bicycle commuter and best friend of Redford (a rescue hound). His aim is to bring the good news beyond the choir and to the masses. elephantjournal.com | facebook.com/elephantjournal | twitter.com/elephantjournal […]

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